I recorded it on Eurosport earlier and just watched. First thing is the Eurosport commentators were UNBELIEVEABLY negative. Half way through the 2nd set I was seriously considering topping myself.

I thought he played pretty well but looked a but rusty. The French boy played well for parts of the match but was ultimately limited. As regards the one point where he held his back and grimaced. Not sure but it didn't seem to bother him thereafter. The commentators on the other hand seemed to think he was going to withdraw from the tournament. Overall good that Andy was tested and it will set him up for his next match.

I switched the comms off. The negativity coming from them was worse than some of the stuff on here, including this thread. The were also obsessed about Andy's back and fitness, which also drove me up the wall. I had to laugh though when the trainer was called, as they assumed it was for Andy, but instead it was Millot! Whether his problem was genuine, or whether he was merely trying to upset Andy's rhythm when he was about to serve for the set, is a matter for conjecture, but whatever, Andy just got on with the business of winning.

Maybe he did feel a twinge in his back which, quite understandably, made him feel a bit apprehensive, or maybe it was just the old Andy habit of grabbing himself when he wasn't happy with his performance (and there was a bit of muttering going on), but as it only happened once I think it can be assumed that it really wasn't anything to get concerned about. The bottom line is that Andy is still a bit rusty, his body and his brain have to get used to playing competitively after a four month lay-off, and he has to learn to trust his back again, and it's this mental aspect that many sportspersons who have been injured find the most difficult when trying to make a comeback. Andy lived with his problem for about 18 months, probably often working his way round shots in an attempt to keep the pain to a minimum, so, whilst he is, and hopefully will continue to be, pain free, his pattern of thinking needs time to adapt.

My commies were Darren Cahill and Patrick McEnroe. DC is always very fair and extremely knowledgeable, whereas PM has never had much good to say about Andy. Well.. I've noticed he's been surprisingly complimentary recently. We may have another convert.

rare I agree with bignose but spot on about the eurosport comms. They practically had him back in hospital.And as the article posted by bbh indicates, it seems Andy's mind was in fact on Jamie and that does help explain why he didn't seem totally focused for much of the match. I've posted a link to an interview with Martina on the Andy at AO thread as she's very interesting on what we can expect of Andy on his return to the game.